The END is Near
by Snowfairy1
Summary: Igneel gives Lucy a very important request to Lucy when Natsu starts to fight Mard Geer. What does this request mean and why did he give it to Lucy out of all people? What does the destroying or opening of E.N.D. have to do with Natsu's safety? And how does Igneel know Layla Heartfilia? Pairings: Nalu and minor Jerza, Gruvia, Gale
1. Their missions

Lucy gaped at the huge flying figure that had just came out of Natsu. Her eyes widened when she realized just what that figure was and her air whooshed out of her body as she gasped. Igneel, the king of fire dragons, Natsu's father. How could this be, how has Igneel been inside Natsu this whole entire time without Natsu knowing! Natsu couldn't have known right? Lucy looked over at Natsu and all of her feelings of confusion and disbelief where wiped away when she saw the look on Natsu's face. He was standing there looking up at his father who he hadn't seen in so long with tears streaming down his face and pain disbelief confusion and joy all written on his face at once. Lucy didn't know what to do, she knew though that she couldn't begin to comprehend what Natsu was feeling and she also knew that all she had to do was to be there for Natsu like he was for her.

"Salamander! Is that really Igneel? You tellin' me he was inside your body this whole time? Cut the bullshit!" Gajeel yelled roughly.

I sharply turned to look at Gajeel and give him the evil eye. How could he be this insensitive!? I turned me gave to Levy and Juvia expected them to be looking at Gajeel the same way but they both were looking at me with confusion on their faces. Why could no one else see the pain Natsu was in.

"Like I even got a clue...and this whole time...this whole time I was looking for him." natsu said as he shoke.

I began to walk over to him but as soon as I took my first step I saw fire starting to appear under Natsu's feet and the next thing I knew he was flying up towards Igneel and Acnologia yelling at Igneel. Natsu started questioning his father and I couldn't blame him for being so upset. Why would someone do that to their son, dissapear without a word but then show back up all of a sudden out of their son themselves. My body as tight with nerves since Natsu was up their with the dragons and at anytime he could be hurt. Igneel let out a huge blast and I watched in awe as it made its way over to Acnologia engulfing the dragon of despair in a world of red fire. My face heated up from the fire and I stared in amazment at Natsu's father, surely he would be able to stop Acnologia. Unfortunatly though when the fire cleared up Acnologia was still there as strong as ever with not even a scratch on him. Natsu please come down before you get hurt I pleaded in my head. It seemed like Igneel could read minds because I saw him say a couple of last words to Natsu then Igneel took him and flung him down to the ground a little bit away from we were. As tired as I was I willed me legs to run over to Natsu as fast as I could. As I got closer I could see someone else standing there with Natsu, he had dark hair up into a ponytail and he was holding close to his chest a book with the letters E.N.D. On it. My heart leaped in my chest as I figured out that the man I saw talking to Natsu was no other then Mard Geer the master of Tartarus. The man that had ordered for my death was a couple of yards away from me but I still kept on running because I knew that Natsu needed someone close by as I was told by Lisanna, Natsu is always stronger with his friends near.

"you are right Natsu is always stronger with his friends close to him, exspecially a friend that is very precious to him."

I stopped dead in my tracks and spun around.

"Who is that?" I exclaimed.

"You are a smart girl, I know that you already know the answer to that."

"Igneel," I breathed.

The fire dragon chuckled, "the one and only."

"Why did you leave Natsu all alone, why did you never tell him you were alive and okay?"

"Settle down girly, now is not the time for that you will get your answers eventually but I need you to help me with something for the time being."

"And what is that," I questioned.

"You are aware of the book that the master of hades is carrying correct?"

"Yes, the book of E.N.D."

"Correct, I have given the mission of stealing the book from Mard Geer to Natsu."

"So what do you want me to do? Help Natsu get the book?"

"I need you to make sure that Natsu does not either open or destroy the book or something terrible will happen, I have already told him this but I know he wasn't listening."

"What terrible thing will happen?" I questioned.

"Trust me when I tell you nothing good."

"Why can't you just tell me!?"

"Because I don't know if you would be able to handle it, excpecially you out of anyone here."

"Then why me! If I can't handle it why not pick someone who can and just to make clear I am strong I am not a little baby like I was when I first joined the guild."

"I know that you are strong, I have seen you grow with my own eyes. And the answer to why you is because it is you. No one else would be able to do this like you can. I picked you because I know of your importance to my son. While inside him I could feel what his heart felt and I know that you are one of the most precious existances on this earth to my son. I would entrust his life to you and feel safe about it. When your future self died Natsu was in so much pain that he couldn even speak. You may not know it but this job is only something you can do. So I need to know can you do it?

I was in shock, never had someone believed in me this much besides Natsu. What shocked me even more was Igneel saying that I was a precious existance to Natsu. Natsu never really talks about his feelings so I could never really tell my importance to Natsu. But I knew that I had already decided on what to do.

"Yes, you can count on me."

"Great, the only other thing I have to say is if E.N.D. Is opened or destroyed and Natsu isn't able to overcome it by himself I need to know that you will do anything in your power to stop him without killing him."

It was a confusing request but I knew that if Igneel said it it was important.

"Yes, of course."

"Thank you Lucy Heartfilia my son and I will forever be in your debt."

I smiled and started running towards Natsu again, the wind howling againts me.

"You look even more like Layla then when the first time I saw you."

Did Igneel just say something? I tried to listen but the wind was to loud and I couldn't hear anything. I guess not I shrugged and continued running to Natsu and Mard Geer. Only if I knew know what was going to happen next, I might have been able to stop it.


	2. Their struggles

My feet were sore, my eyes stinging from the constant wind lashing against my face, and my heart was thumping wildly inside of my chest. I slowed down to a walk as I approached Natsu and the king of hades.

"Ahh another insect to be crushed underneath my foot," Mard Geer drawled.

Natsu whipped his head around and stared at me in shock but then turned his attention towards Mard Geer again.

"I saw him first Lucy! It's my job to fight him you can't steal him from me!" Natsu hollered at me.

I starred at him with exasperation on my face. Seriously, is that really what he thought I was doing here. Sometimes I wondered if he even had a brain.

"Don't worry Natsu I'm not here to fight him but if you need help I can always join,"I offered.

"No worries, I won't be needing any helping defeating this old man. You saved everyone's asses earlier its my time to help out now," he grinned.

I looked down at my feet and blushed. Even though he is a idiot he somehow always makes everything okay.

Mard Geer was still standing there quietly observing us cocking his head to the side. His eyes landed on mine and I felt a sudden chill go throughout my body.

"Aw so you are the celestial wizard who survived here in tartarus by yourself for so long. I would say I am impressed but vermin doesn't impress me. Awhile ago I knew of another celestial mage that reminds me of you but she died because of her stupidity. I have to admit though a celestial wizard is a much easier way for my plan then what I was planning." Mard Geer said more to himself then Natsu and me.

The king of hades was deep in thought and his ramblings made no sense to me. I glanced over at Natsu who looked just as confused as I was. He saw me looking and he shrugged.

"Fire dragon fist!" Natsu roared as he quickly attempted to attack Mard Geer. The king of Hades easily side stepped Natsu then swept his leg out and knocked natsu over onto the ground.

"How much stronger you will be soon," he cooed.

"What the hell! Stop saying things that no one understands!" Natsu yelled as he pushed himself up and tried attacking Mard again.

This time though Natsu wasn't so lucky the king of hades quickly deflected his attack then made vines with thorns come out of the earth and entrap Natsu onto the floor.

"Natsu!" I exclaimed as I pulled out leo's key and started running towards him.

Before I could even call my spirit out though Mard Geer sent some of his vines and they snatched Leo's key from my hand. I reached down to pull another key from my belt but my hand only meet air instead of the inside of my key holder. My blood ran cold as the realization hit me and I slowly looked up at the king of hades. He was dangling my key pouch from one finger and looking at me smugly. Natsu was still struggling to get free from the vines but the more he struggled the more the vines tightened and the more the thorns sunk into his skin. He tried to light the vines on fire but they weren't even affected by his fire.

"It seems to me like the two of you might be struggling." Mard Geer sneered at us.

"YOU BASTARD LET ME OUT AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!" Natsu bellowed.

Mard Geer just continued standing there looking down at us with much distaste and amusement in his eyes. He thought that there was no way that either of them could fight back now, but he was dead wrong. I slowed down my breathing and took a breath in and then out as I closed my eyes. In my mind I pictured Aquarius with her water basin sitting on a rock sunbathing, one of her eyes opened up and she yelled at me while she made a giant wave that crashed into me and sent me flying.

"Thank you Aquarius." I whispered as I could feel the marks on my chest appear again.

"Did you say something girl?" Mard Geer questioned.

My eyes snapped open and I smiled.

"Yes."

I sent a huge wave crashing down onto Mard Geer that made him lose grip of my keys and swept him far away from where me and Natsu were. I grabbed the keys out of the air and immediately called out Cancer.

"Can you cut those vines around Natsu?" I asked hopefully.

Cancer dashed over to Natsu and in a few snips Natsu was standing there free of the vines Mard Geer had casted upon him. I sent Cancer back to the celestial realm and ran over to Natsu.

"Are you okay, do your injuries hurt to much?" I questioned.

I ripped off some of my sleeve and wrapped it around one of the bigger gashes on Natsu's arm.

"Mard Geer will be back soon and when he comes we have to be ready to fight." I finally looked up at Natsu's face and I blushed. He was looking at me with wide eyes and just starring intently.

"Lucy, you are so cool."

My face heated up even more and I looked down at my feet.

"I am not, I just did what I needed to do so we wouldn't die." I looked back up at his face.

He was looking at me with his notorious grin. He lifted one of his hands and placed it on the top of my head.

"Thanks for saving my ass again." He smiled.

My face broke out into a smile and my cheeks tinted pink. I would always be here for him even when no one else was. I don't know when I decided that but I knew now that I would never be able to leave him.

"I guess I underestimated you."

I spun around and saw Mard Geer starring sharply at me and Natsu. Natsu stepped out in front of me and hid me behind his back.

"Well I have had fun but it is time for me to get to business."

With one swipe of his hand a huge vine came out and knocked Natsu over and with another swipe of his hand a huge thorn cage formed around me. Natsu jumped back up and threw a punch at Mard Geer who easily side stepped it.

"Let Lucy go!" Natsu snarled.

"See if I did that she would only get in my way and I would have to kill her and I need her for later. Now Natsu shall we begin?" he grinned as he grasped the book of E.N.D even tighter. "Finally everything is in place. One seal is opened and the other one is soon to be too."

"What the hell are you talking about? I have no clue what you are saying!? Natsu yelled.

"Don't worry Natsu Dragneel you will find out soon enough. The E.N.D is near."


	3. Their magic

"Don't worry Natsu Dragneel you will find out soon enough. The E.N.D is near."

Mard Geer raised the book of E.N.D over his head and smiled at it.

"The time has come Master, no longer will you have to wait."

The wheels of my brain started to turn as I started to process everything. The book, everything had to do with the book. Igneel's words rang in my head.

"Natsu, you have to get the book quickly!" I yelled frantically.

Natsu hesitated for one moment but in the next he was leaping into the air after Mard Geer. The king of hades beckoned his army of vines, they twined themselves around him and out in front of him making a barrier. Natsu rolled to the side then kicked out his leg to try and knock Mard Geer of his feet. But instead one of the vines wrapped itself around Natu's leg and flung him into a brick slab and Natsu's head slammed against the brick with a sickening thunk.

"Natsu!" I screamed worriedly.

"Don't worry Lucy I won't be beaten that easily." Natsu slowly stood up and grinned in my direction. I could make out a red liquid dripping from his head as he regained his composure.

"My dad made a official request to me for this job. I will complete it and then my dad will explain to me where he has been all this time and why he left me. I WILL NOT LOSE!' Natsu yelled as he propelled himself forward to attack Mard Geer again.

Lucy could feel the anger, sadness, and loneliness in Natsu's words, all of his emotions felt like her own as she watched him continue to fight Mard Geer with determination. Hope started to rise in her stomach as Natsu started to gain the upper hand. The king of hades was having trouble with keeping up with Natsu's fast attacks and Natsu was only getting quicker. Natsu's flames burned even brighter then usual as he punched, kicked, and attacked Mard Geer, it was if the sun itself was fighting a battle with the moon. Lucy smiled, that was the Natsu she knew, always getting stronger and never giving up no matter what the odds. Just when Natsu was inches from getting the book a high shrill noise erupted in my ear drum. **Pain**, it blinded my vision and made me bite down so hard on my tongue that blood filled me mouth. I felt myself drop onto the floor and I curled up in a ball. All I could do was will myself to not black out and to take the pain.

**Natsu**, was he okay, was he going through the same pain that I was going through? The last thing I remember was hearing something laughing, not a laugh that was pure and innocent, but a laugh that was full of something much darker and crazier then I had ever heard before my vision went black.

When I woke up I knew that something was wrong. My body somehow in someway felt empty inside. I felt like something very important had disappeared but I couldn't figure out just what it was. My eyes slowly opened and I took in my surrondings. I was still inside the thorn cage that Mard Geer had put me in and my body was curled up into a ball. I uncurled my body and looked outside of the cage. Natsu was laying on the floor few feet away from me unconscious.

"Natsu." I croaked. "Natsu!"

I saw his body shift a little bit then I heard him groan.

"What the hell?" He sat up and looked around.

"Did you hear that noise to?" I asked.

"Yeah, it about blew up my eardrums." He looked around again. "Where is Mard Geer?"

I looked around the area and saw no signs of him. "I have no idea."

"Well I guess we should get you out of that cage then." He smiled.

"I Guess!?"

He laughed one of his famous laughs and walked up to the cage.

"You might want to move back." he said while he prepared himself to melt through the vines.

"But Natsu, Mard Geer said that your fire doesn't work on his vines."  
"I am just going to prove him wrong. I'm fired up!" He grinned.

I backed away from the front of the cage as Natsu put his hands on the vines.

"Anytime Natsu," I muttered.

He looked up at me and my stomach dropped. This was not happening.

"Natsu..."

I slowly reached down to my key pouch and pulled out Virgo's key. But when I tried to call her out nothing happened. I started to shake and my stomach was churning. Now I figured out what that important something was that I had felt was missing.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Natsu bellowed as he dropped onto his knees.

Then I heard the laughing. The same laugh that I had heard before I blacked out. That evil sadistic laugh.

"I see that you two have discovered what has happened." He sneered.

"Our magic..." I sputtered.

"Yes your magic. Face has been released and now all of the wizards on the planet are powerless." Mard Geer exclaimed excitedly.

Natsu was still on his knees looking down at his hands shaking his head, I faintly heard him muttering no again.

"Natsu..."

He looked up at me with glazed eyes. It felt so foreign to see him like this, so unsure and confused. I reached out throught the cage bars and put my hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him. His eyes came out of the glazed state and he stood up. When I dropped my hand away from his shoulder he grabbed my hand with his own and squeezed mine almost like he was trying to reassure me as we looked into each others eyes.

"I am sorry to say but I have to end this little moment. What am I saying I'm not sorry." He laughed out his own horrible joke.

"_Lucy."_

"_Igneel!"_

"_Mard Geer is going to open the book of E.N.D, I was foolish to believe that we could stop him from doing that so now you have to be ready to do your part."_

"_But I don't have magic anymore! How am I suppose to do my part when I can't use magic?"_

"_You will find a way Lucy, I promise you."_

"_Alright I will try.."I said unsurely._

"_Thank you, and one more thing Lucy."_

"_Yes?"_

"_Don't give up on Natsu."_

"_I wouldn't be able to."_

"_Good luck."_

I watched as Mard Geer started to raise the book above his head again and I could feel my heart starting to beat faster. Natsu squeezed my hand tighter as Mard Geer lowered the book in front of him.

"My Lord, after all these years it is finally time."

My heart was now beating so hard that you could probably hear it. Questions ran through my brain. What is E.N.D going to be, how powerful will this thing be? Mard Geer looked up at us one more time and then he opened the book of E.N.D.

"My Lord, come out."

I squeezed Natsu's hand and closed my eyes and waited and waited and waited for E.N.D to appear but nothing happened. I could feel Natsu's hand getting hot in my own, we were both probably just sweating with anticipation, but his hand kept getting hotter and hotter to the point where my hand started to burn.

"Natsu!" I yelled as I pulled my hand away from his.

I looked up at him in confusion. My blood ran cold. Natsu's mouth was hanging wide open and his eyes were opened wide.

"Natsu! Whats wrong?" I questioned.

But before he could answer a blood curdling scream made its way out of his mouth. I jumped backwards as his whole entire body erupted into flames.

"Answer me Natsu! What is happening!?" I yelled at him.

But somewhere deep inside me I knew what was happening to him, but I couldn't admit it to myself because if I did I wouldn't know if I could handle it. But the more and more I watched Natsu twist in agony and pain the more that terrible thought came to mind. My body crawled as Natsu continued to transform, I wanted to help him but all I could do was hang on to the side of my cage and watch Natsu go through something this terrible by himself. I watched in horror as horns erupted from his head, they came right out of his soft pink hair that I loved so much. Then as he give a huge shriek wings erupted from his back tearing holes in his skull jacket.

"NATSU!" I screamed.

I put my hands up to my face and felt tears streaming down my face.

"Natsu.." I called again this time between sobs. But unlike the last time, Natsu looked up at me. I saw the terror and pain flashing through his eyes, I saw how scared and lost he looked but then all of that was gone in one instant. Because the oynx eyes that always kept me going and comforted me disappeared as they were replaced with pitch black eyes that was devoid of any emotion and held no sign of Natsu Dragneel that I knew and cared about. That was the moment when I finally admitted it to myself.

Natsu Dragneel was E.N.D.


	4. Their decisions

Gray POV

I could feel it, the emptiness in my body, my magic that I had worked so hard on strengthening under Ul's guidance was gone. The rage filled my body, making my vision blurry. How could this happen? Why did this happen? Questions with no answers overflowed inside me. We are doomed. Now that Face has been activated we won't be able to fight back against the demons. Fairy tail will be a destroyed. Magnolia will be destroyed. Fiore will be destroyed. The world will be destroyed. Pain, despair, exhaustion, suffering, death. No one will know happiness anymore, just sadness. The innocent will be turned dark and the dark will be turned evil. Not one person will be safe from the destruction that is going to come. We will all die. Mothers, fathers, wife's, husbands, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, friends, everyone. _Dad... _I feel onto my knees and rested my forehead on the ground. No, no, no, no, no.

"NOOO!" I screamed us I pounded my fist against the ground.

Dark thoughts were swarming around in my head and I couldn't stop them. The blackness started to take me, slowly I felt myself slipping into it. I was engulfed in the darkness, no light present in the slightest. It felt nice, now I wouldn't have to worry about anything, I can just stay in my darkness for the rest of time.

"Gray-sama."

Who is trying to call me out of my dark home.

"Gray-sama!"

The voice called at me more persistently. It was anoying.

"Gray-sama!" The voice screamed.

Light started to fill inside my darkness. The light came down and encircled my body, warming myself. The darkness was disappearing rapidly as the light took over. The darkness was gone and I started gaining consciousness. I felt something wrapped around me holding me close to them.

"Gray-sama, I am so sorry. I... I am so sorry. So sorry!" A voiced quivered right by my ear.

I opened my eyes slowly so that they could adjust to the light. When they did I was taken back at what I found. Juvia was hugging me tightly against herself as she cried and apologized over and over again. I lifted my arm and placed my hand on the top of her head.

"You don't need to apologize Juvia." I quietly whispered into her ear.

She pulled back quickly with amazement in her eyes and also deep sorrow.

"But Gray-sama your dad... I..." She fumbled with her words.

"Juvia." I pulled her back into a hug. "Thank you."

"Gray-sama" She cried.

We sat there awhile like that, just holding onto each other. I had never realized how much I needed Juvia and how much she had a affect on me until that moment. She had pulled me out of the darkness, she had fulfilled my fathers final wish, she brought happiness into me life, I needed her. Juvias's body went stiff in my arms.

"What is it?" I questioned.

"Face, Juvia... Juvia doesn't have any magic anymore."

"Yeah I know, neither do I."

"But Gray-sama, your arm."

I looked down at my tattooed arm that was a reminder of the demon slaying magic my father gave. Wait my fathers magic, demon magic!

"That's it Juvia, my demon slaying magic! It should still work since my father gave it to me and he was a demon in a way."

I raised my arm and called upon the magic. Ice spread across the ground by my feet. A smile spread across my face.

"The fight isn't over yet!" I yelled.

"Gray, Juvia!"

Juvia and I looked over and saw Levy running towards us with Gajeel behind her trudging along with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"You found him!" Levy exclaimed.

"Yes, Juvia found Gray-sama." She smiled up at Levy.

I then noticed the position that Juvia and I were still in. I quickly let go and stood up trying to keep the blush from appearing on my face. Gajeel looked at me and raised his eyebrows.

"Gihee," He grinned down at me.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Levy.

"Is everyone else alright?"

"Yes, everyone's magic is gone, but other then that mostly everyone is okay." She answered.

"What do you mean by mostly everyone?

Levy looked down at the ground sadly. Gajeel looked at me in the eye but this time not jokingly.

"Salamander and bunny girl are missing." He replied solemnly.

"Missing?"

"Yeah no one can find them. And Mard Geer is also no where to be found."

Natsu.. Lucy... please be okay.

"We should probably go meet up with the oth-"

A loud noise came from behind us. We all spun around quickly to see if we could find the source of the noise, but it was to far away. It sounded like the highest and most pain filled scream that I had ever heard and it was soon joined in by another high agonized scream.

"What the hell!" Gajeel cursed covering his ears.

Then suddenly everything went quiet.

"Well that was weir-" I started saying before another terrifying thing happened.

A huge column of fire blew up into the air turning the sky a orangish red. Even from here I could feel the warmth of the flames as they licked up into the sky.

Fire. A flame demon. E.N.D. My fathers last words rang through my head. I started walking towards the pillar of fire.

"Gray-sama, what are you doing?" Juvia asked.

"I'm going to crush E.N.D."

Lucy POV

Fire. The world had been engulfed in fire. Natsu... E.N.D was surrounded by the fire as he observed his body. He looked more like an animal then a human as his wings beated back and fourth and his black eyes looked at his surroundings. Fear paralyzed my body, I was so scared. Mard Geer was off to my left laughing still as he watched Natsu, no E.N.D, examine himself.

"Now it is your turn to play your part." Mard Geer smiled gleefully as his eyes settled on me.

What could he possibly want with me? What did he intend for me to do?

"I am not doing anything for you." I spat at him as my eyes kept on watching Natsu.

"Do you want to die?" Mard Geer asked me.

I swallowed and took a breathe full of ash. Of course I didn't want to die, but if I had to do something that would hurt my friends to live I would rather die.

"If you don't all you have to do is one little thing."

I stayed quiet.

"I want you to seal the other half of E.N.D that is good."

"What do you mean."

"Your little friend that calls himself the son of a dragon, I want you to take that part of his personality and seal it in the celestial spirit world."

"Even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to do that. There would be no pathway to send him that."

Mard Geer then smiled and pulled the book out from his cloak.

"What do you think this is?" He grinned.

No way. A portal to the celestial world was there. Does that mean that when Mard Geer opened the book, he opened a portal from the celestial world and that is how E.N.D got out? But that would also have to mean that E.N.D was sealed there beforehand by a celestial wizard. Also Mard Geer would not be able to open the portal to the celestial world to let E.N.D himself. He would need a celestial wizard present when he opened the book for the portal to open. Realization dawned on me. I was the celestial wizard that was present for the portal to open, I was the one who let E.N.D out. I was the one who did this to Natsu.

"NO!" I cried out.

Mard Geer just kept on chuckling.

"Oh yes. You were the one who made this all possible for me. You have brought on the destruction of the world."

"I will never seal that part of Natsu up. If you think I will then you are crazy! I don't even have my magic anymore you took that away from me yourself with Face. Even if I had my magic though I would never do that, I would rather die."

"Well that can be arranged." He snarled.

He released the thorn cage that I was in and started walking towards me. I closed my eyes tightly and dug my nails into the skin of my hand waiting for the piercing pain that was sure to come.

"You are stupid, just like your mother!"

I waited for the blow and then blackness but it never came. I slowly opened my eyes.

"Natsu!"

The horror that I was looking open made my stomach churn and my head throb.

Natsu was standing in front of me looking down on what was left of Mard Geer. He cocked his head to the side then raised his claw to his mouth licking the blood of the king of hades off of it. I leaned to the side and spilled my guts onto the ground next to me. Was this really Natsu? The Natsu I knew would never do anything remotely close to this. No, I reminded myself this isn't Natsu this is someone for some reason shares the same body as my Natsu. Nat- E.N.D looked down at me and then he bent down and picked something up from the ground. He held it up like a trophy and then he crouched down in front of me and sat it down in my lap. Again in that moment I threw up for on my lap was the head of Mard Geer. E.N.D looked down on me and then he smiled. It wasn't a smile that filled me with warmth but a smile that sent chills throughout my body. Natsu's signature smile was gone and in its place was something far more evil and sinister. E.N.D started to lean down and he reached out one of his clawed hands towards my face.

"Stop right there!"

E.N.D stopped what he was doing and then slowly started to stand up again and look over at the voice.

"Gray," I breathed. Thank god he would fix everything and somehow turn Natsu back to normal.

"Please help him Gray, I can't think of a way to turn him back to normal. Please save him." I pleaded.

"I'm sorry Lucy but there is only one way to save Natsu."

"What is that?" I questioned cautiously.

" To Kill him."


	5. His sacrafice

**Thank you everyone for the sweet reveiws and for following this story and favoriting it. It is my first fan fiction so all the nice reveiws is really making me feel good. Special thanks to Dark Silver Tears, Dark Shining Light, Fdsecretart, and Godschildtweety for commenting multiple times, it makes my day:) I am trying to update as much as I can but school has been a lot this week. Very sorry for the wait. I am trying to decide how long I want to make this fic to be so please comment how long you think it should be. Thank you guys sooo much! Happy reading(;**

"To kill him."

What? Did I just hear him correctly? To kill Natsu? The Natsu that had brought me to Fairy Tail. The Natsu that was always put his life on the line to save everyone? No, I defiantly had hears him wrong. Yeah Natsu and Gray fought a lot but they were practically brothers. Gray wouldn't be able to do such a thing. But the more I looked at Gray the more that I realized that something was different about him. His eyes were much stronger then before but they also carried much pain in them. There was some sort of tattoo swirling up his arm as well.

"Gray, what did you just say? Can you please repeat it..?" I asked hesitantly.

"I said that the only way to stop Natsu is to kill him." Gray said intently.

No, please god no. Killing... killing Natsu is not the only way, my heart knew it. Gray was wrong, I don't know what is wrong with him but there is no way that he is right about this.

"What are you talking about! How can you even suggest something like that? Natsu is your nakama, our nakama. Fairy Tail would never hurt their friends!" I yelled at him.

"Fairy Tail would also do anything to protect their friends and the rest of the world. So if one person has to be sacrificed to save millions of people that is fine. Think about it Lucy, Natsu would never want to hurt innocent people. He would want us to end him before he can do that!" Gray yelled back at me.

I watched as Natsu... E.N.D stared down at Gray with murderous eyes. He turned his head to the side then snapped his wings all the way out to their full capacity. He then started to beat them lifting himself into the air.

"You won't get away!" Gray snarled as he made a huge ice canon, shooting at Natsu as he tried to fly off.

Natsu expertly dodged them and sent back huge balls of fire at Gray almost engulfing him if he hadn't gotten out of the way so fast. Gray scrunched his face up in concentration before sending a volley of ice missiles at Natsu who with one wave of his clawed hand melted them all in a blink. Gray tried attack after attack but nothing was working. I sat there and cried, just like I always did. The fear in my stomach keeping me from standing up and stopping the fight. Lucy get up, I commended myself. But every time I tried my knees buckled and I would drop right back down onto the floor.

"I guess it is time to use that." I heard Gray mutter as he looked down at his tattooed arm.

Gray raised his arm and positioned it at Natsu, Natsu smirked and rose both of hands hands forming two huge waves of fire. They both prepared to attack each other but were interrupted by a small high voice.

"Natsu stop it! Please go back to normal so we can go back home again and eat fish!"

"Happy.." I sobbed.

He had positioned himself right infront of Natsu with his tiny arms spread wide. His whole body was shaking with fear and his eyes were so wide.

"Please lets go home!" He whimpered as tears streamed down his blue face.

"Happy get away from him!" Gray screamed.

"No! Natsu is my best friend! I can't leave him!" Happy yelled.

E.N.D was looking at happy with confusion in his eyes. I tried to tell myself that deep down he recognized him but it looked more like someone who couldn't decide if something was a snack or not.

"Come on Natsu! We can go on more missions together and wreck a town. You, Lucy, and me! All of us together like always!" Happy continued.

My tears were streaming down my face even more then they were a second ago. Yes, Happy was right. Natsu, Happy, and I, going on another adventure laughing and having fun. Natsu getting sick from riding in a carriage, Happy making fun of me and calling me fat, Natsu getting to into it and destroying the whole town, me having to apologize for what Natsu did, then Natsu and happy sneaking into my room at night. Yes sometimes I could get really annoyed at those two but I loved both of them so much.

"Happy, Natsu, lets go home! I yelled smiling through my tears.

Happy turned towards me and smiled. "Ay-"

Red

Pain

Horror

Blood

Natsu

E.N.D

Happy

A scream so loud and high pierced the air. It continued for a long time holding out longer then what would be expected. It was probably louder and higher then anyone expected as well. I reached my hand up to my mouth and found it open. The scream died out as my mouth closed. It was me, that terrifying, piercing scream was me. I looked at the bloody mess that has just landed in my lap. The soft blue hair that was now coated with a dark red. The green scarf that had also been turned red. But nothing came after the scarf. His eyes were still open, staring at me in surprise.

"Happy?" I whispered.

No reply.

"Happy?" I yelled.

Nothing.

"Happy!" I screamed.

Pictures flashed in my mind. Happy laughing and teasing me. Happy first explaining to me who Natsu was. Happy trying to make me buy him fish. Happy carrying me in the sky saving me numerous times. Happy crying as my future self died. Happy upset over leaving Natsu. And now Happy's head in my lap as the rest of his body was in the hands of E.N.D.

"Happy!" I heard Gray cry out from where he was standing.

My body was shaking uncontrollably as I took my fingers and shut happy's eyes. I ripped off some of my skirt and laid it over his head as I sat it down next to me.

"Happy, I promise you, I will save Natsu." I whispered.

I forced my body to stand up and looked over at Gray.

"I will not let you kill Natsu. If you want to kill him you will have to kill me first." I said as strongly as I could muster.

Gray looked very upset ad confused. I could see the sadness and terror in his eyes as he was thinking of what to do.

"Lucy.. there is no other way." He said softly.

"You don't know that! Gray please for Happy, don't do this!"

"Natsu killed happy Lucy, he killed him. If he can kill his best friend without a second thought then how do you think we will be able to stop him." Gray tried reasoning with me.

"Honestly, I don't know, but what I do know is that I won't give up on him even if everyone else does."

"_Thank you Lucy. I am guessing you know why I choose you know. You are the only one who is not going to give up on Natsu. Also you are the only one besides Happy that will bring Natsu out. Now that Happy has passed on I realize that it is a different kind of power that will stop Natsu. Not the love of a friend but the love of a partner. Along with your rare magic you will find a way to save Natsu. Good luck."_

"_I will save him I promise you Igneel just as I promised Happy."_

"Sorry Lucy-san."

From behind me I felt someone wrap their arms around me and hold on tight.

"Juvia, you don't understand!" I yelled trying to shake her off me but her grip just got tighter.

"Natsu-san is not himself anymore. I wish that there was another way but it seems like their isn't." She said quietly. On my neck I could feel her tears dropping.

"No!" I squirmed around. If only I wasn't out of magic power. Why in a time like this, I cried.

I watched as Gray and Natsu prepared to fight each other once again.

Juvia murmured next to my ear. "Their last fight."


	6. Her love

"Their last fight."

Juvia's words echoed in my mind, again, again, and again. The truth of the statement seemed to hit more harder then any punch or kick would. If someone would ask me why it affected me as much as those few words did, they would probably not get the answer that they were looking for. An answer that is complex and devastatingly upsetting. An answer filled with angst and complete despair, no, the answer is so much more simpler then that. _It's because they are friends. _Confusion would be the first reaction to the answer, then after that would be the disbelief. _Who would be upset over friends fighting for the last time? _Of course, any normal person would have these thoughts. But Fairy Tail mages are anything but normal, and anyone who knows a Fairy Tail mage would be able to vouch. _"Not a day goes by were those delinquents don't destroy a town!" _ _"Once a week my house catches on fire and then gets frozen over! Do you know how stressful that can be on a old women!"_

So if a person would tell a Fairy Tail mage that it was their last fight, the member would laugh so loudly and hard that anyone in a 3 mile radius would be able to hear. For fighting was not just a way to get aggression out for a Fairy Tail mage but to help others, pass time, show affection, have fun, fulfill promises, protect their loved one, even to make someone laugh. It was how they showed their emotions and feelings to those who they care for.

"Their last fight"

Lucy doesn't even notice the words tumble from her mouth for she is to deep in thought. Natsu and Gray... fighting for the last time. Over the years, the constant bickering was something that she had grown accustom to. Yeah, she acts like she is annoyed but she knows that that was how the two of them communicated. One sarcastic comment, one mean name, it was just how they were. So as Lucy watched the two of her best friends battle and the realization of it being their last hit her, she couldn't help but feel so... so useless. Here she was with no magic, watching the two of her best friends fight to the death as she helplessly watched from the sidelines restrained by Juvia.

"This is to _much_." Lucy whispered softly, her voice breaking on the last word. I made a promise to Happy, a promise to Igneel. How could I ever help Natsu now? As a celestial spirit mage promises have always been important to her, and the idea of not being able to keep her promise... _Mom, what do I do? _No answer. I reprimand myself for being such an idiot. There is no one to rely on this time, nobody to get answers from, nobody to use as a emotional crutch. This time I am alone, just like when I lost Aquarius... Juvia's grip on me slowly starts to loosen as she watches the ongoing fight infront of her, every now and then gasping a little bit when Natsu's, no, E.N.D.'s flames get a little to close to Gray.

"Juvia, if we don't do something, both Gray and Natsu will be lost forever! Look at them! Even if Gray wins he will probably never be the same! Look at his arm!"

Both Juvia and I watched the dark marks on Gray's arm that shows proof of his fathers magic move slowly higher and across his chest near his heart. Again, Juvia's hold gets more loose as she worries about Gray. I continue on.

"Who knows what will happen if that mark covers his heart, he could lose it just like Natsu did." Her hold loosens yet again.

"No... I have faith in Gray-sama, he will never give in... I'm sorry Lucy.. but.. Juvia can't let you go." And much to Lucy's disappointment her hold tightens. _Plan B._ Lucy was never much of a physically strong girl, yes she was fit, but never did she really use brute force to get things. But, as her last chance was ruined Lucy knew that she would have to use the strength that Natsu so often used instead of his fire.

"Sorry Juvia." Lucy whispered. And just as Juvia started to change her attention from the fight to Lucy, Lucy leaned forward and then quickly slammed backwards, cracking the back of her head into Juvia's face and causing both of the girl to fall down, Lucy on top of Juvia. Lucy then turned over and pinned Juvia to the ground, using all of her weight. Underneath Lucy, Juvia squirmed around and yelled out helplessly, her nose was bloody and crooked and Lucy assumed she had broken it.

"Juvia please, I don't want to do this!" Lucy cried out.

"NOOO, GRAY-SAMA, GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia's desperate pleas rang out, louder and louder. Lucy knew that if she let Juvia continue to scream like this Gray would notice her and that was something that could not happen. _This is just so wrong._

Slowly, Lucy raised her arm and clutched her hand in a fist. Tears spilled over Lucy's face and almost made her not catch the widening of Juvia's eyes as she realized what Lucy was about to do. The first hit surprised Lucy, she had underestimated her own strength. Again, she raised her hand and brought and down. _Faster, harder, again, again, harder, again, again. Silence, no more screams. Motionless, no more struggle. Tears. Blood. _Her own ragged breathing was the first thing that brought Lucy back. What she had just done horrified her, never had Lucy have wanted to do that to anyone, much less a friend. Juvia's face was so bloody.. and Lucy had made it look that way. Lucy reached down and felt Juvia's pulse. Good, she was only knocked out. Good? What was she turning into? Shakily, Lucy climbed off of Juvia and pulled her over besides a rock, propping her up on it.

"Juvia, I'm sorry.. I had to." Lucy whispered to the unconscious water mage as more tears flowed from her eyes, mixing with the blood of Juvia that had splattered onto her face. After looking down at Juvia one last time Lucy started to walk away. Away from her hurt friend, away from the sin that she had committed.

"I'm coming Natsu." I called out softly. During their fight they had moved about a mile way from Juvia and I, so during this mile I knew that I had to come up with a plan. But, I couldn't think of anything. There was nothing. _Igneel?_ I called out in my mind. _Igneel?!_ Nothing. Was he busy? That's what I wished but for some reason, the connection that I had felt before felt like it was... _**gone. **_I drew closer and closer to the fight. Red and blue clashed and flashed in the sky. Even from where I was standing I could feel the heat of Nats- E.N.D.'s flames, and the icy wind of Gray's ice. I had arrived, but I had no plan. No plan on how to get Natsu back and stop Gray from fighting him. I had no magic, I was emotional and physically exhausted and to top it all off, the hand that I had knocked Juvia out with was throbbing, and I could barely move it with crying out in pain. I watched as the Natsu in front of me looked down at Gray with cold, inhuman eyes as he lifted himself up into the sky. What kind of magic could do that to someone, turn their once warm, bright eyes into those that are devoid of emotion. It was cruel, just so inexplicably cruel. I wanted those eyes back, the ones that looked at me with so much care, the eyes that I had trusted ever since that night he dragged me away from the soldiers and leaded me to Fairy Tail, to my _home._

"Natsu.." His name floated out of my mouth. What a stupid mistake that was. E.N.D. suddenly turned his head in my direction and narrowed those heartless eyes at me.

"Lucy! What are you doing here! Run away, now!" I heard Gray yell from the side but as much as I wanted to listen to him and run away I couldn't. My body was stuck in place, frozen in place by the stare of E.N.D.. He cocked his head to the side slowly, just like an animal staring down at its prey. But the worst part was when his mouth stretched out into a grin, if not for the large fangs that were clearly visible, the horns sticking out of his head, and those dead, cold eyes, the grin could of easily passed as one of Natsu's famous smiles. God did it hurt, it hurt so much. Just as quick as the smile came, it disappeared and a frown overtook its place.

"LUCY WATCH OUT!" Gray screamed. Gray's warning, the chill that spread throughout my body, the wind that tossed my hair as E.N.D. picked me up and carried me back up into the sky, the nails that dug into my skin, the blood that dripped from my body, the hot breath of E.N.D., none of it registered in my brain. I was again frozen. Those eyes that I hated were so close to me, staring right into my chocolate brown ones. His face, Natsu's face was so close, but I knew that Natsu was very far away.

"_Who are you?" _The voice was rough, like it hadn't been used in years.

"_Who are YOU?" _The same voice repeated again but this time he squeezed Lucy tighter in his hands, and blood appeared on her bruised arm from where his nails had pierced.

"_WHO ARE YOU?" _The voice roared this time. From his hands heat started to radiate from, and it quickly turned scalding hot burning Lucy's flesh.

"AHHHH! STOP! PLEASE!"

"_WHO ARE YOU!?"_

"LUCY! LUCY HEARTFILIA!" Lucy screamed out in pain.

The heat of his hands started to die away and his forehead scrunched up, like he was thinking very hard.

"_Lucy... Lucy Heartfilia.." He said over again, looking even more confused._

"Yes, Lucy." She cried.

"_Well Lucy, can you explain to me why that stupid boy is locking me out of his memories of you. He is really putting up a fight so that I can't see your memories together, it is quite annoying to be perfectly honest."_

"Natsu? Is he there? Is he okay!?" I asked quickly. As soon as I heard him talk about Natsu, I felt a sort of power that I didn't have before. Hope, that's what it was.

"_Stupid girl, I am Natsu. That boy who you meet was a farce, just a fake personality that was meant to seal me away."_

"No, your lying! Natsu was a real person, who had real emotions! You are the fake!" I yelled into E.N.D.'s face, quickly defending Natsu. A deep laugh came out of the monsters mouth and E.N.D. grabbed my chin with one of his taloned hands.

"_You are pretty interesting Lucy Heartfilia, really dumb, but interesting." _Without thinking I spit right onto his face after he got a little to close to my face, but he did not wipe it off, no, he let it drip down his face and then when it neared his mouth he stuck his tongue out and slowly licked my saliva.

"Disgusting." I spat. E.N.D. smirked and then let go of me. I was free falling down towards the earth, colors of the surroundings blurred past me and distantly I could hear Gray call out my name. My scream pierced the air and I closed my eyes tightly waiting for the impact. But just as I felt that I was about to crash into the ground I felt myself scooped up and carried back up in the sky.

"Die!" I screamed loudly into the ear of E.N.D. As he smugly looked down at me.

"_So sorry Lucy, didn't mean to scare you." _He sarcastically said. _"It had to be done though, the boy was so worried about you dying that I was able to look through all of his memories with you. Oh, you should hear how scared he is right now!"_

"Why does it matter if you have memories about me or not!" I yelled at him.

"_Hahaha, oh this is so much fun! How I missed toying around with humans! You see Lucy, know that I can see all of that boy's memories of you, I can tell how much he cares for you and how much pain he would be in to see you hurt! Ahahahaha! This is so great!"_

"All you care about is hurting him!? Are you serious? If the Natsu that I know wasn't a threat to you and a fake, like you said, then why is he still around? And why are you so bent on making him miserable!" Lucy yelled. Underneath her she could feel his body tense up and his face grew quickly colder. She had hit a nerve.

"_Maybe its just because I like causing pain. Yes, I do. And knowing now how he feels about you, well this will be extremely painful. For him, and __**you**__." _He emphasized the last word and then like a bullet, we sped down to the ground right in front of Gray.

"Lucy! Get back quick! There is no time know, we have to kill him, that is the only way!" Gray shouted grabbing my arm and pulling me towards him. I collapsed behind Gray after he successfully tore me away from E.N.D.'s grip.

"This is it you bastard!" Gray seethed as he prepared a large ice sword. _No. _E.N.D. just stood there grinning at Gray, but didn't make any move to protect himself or fight back.

"Gray! If you kill him you kill Natsu too!" I said, giving him a warning.

"Yeah, I know that Lucy." And with that he brought the sword back and time slowed down. I felt myself scramble up and throw myself in front of E.N.D.. I watched the sword rip through my flesh and I saw the horror on Gray's face as he pierced me through the chest. But worst of all, as I fell down unto the ground, I saw E.N.D.'s face. He was smiling, and his eyes were filled with enjoyment and excitement. He planned it all along, he knew that I would try to save Natsu from Gray, and that's why he didn't attack.

Gray collapsed to his knees besides me and he hovered his hands over me, daring not to touch the wound. "Lucy.. No... LUCYYY!"

I could feel Gray's tears as they dripped unto my face. "My fault..." He whispered. "Gray, it was my choice to jump... in front of him, you had no idea I would do that... But please... as a final wish go get Juvia and run away as fast as you can... Get everyone in the guild and run far away from here and don't look back." I said softly, coughing up blood every few words.

"But... Lucy you.."

"GO!" I shouted at him. He rose up and ran away stumbling over his own feet and as I watched his retreating figure I saw him raise his hand in the famous Fairy Tail gesture. With as much strength as I had I rose my hand up in the air and smiled at my pink Fairy Tail mark. But soon as my hand was in the air, it was gone and instead of looking at the pink mark I was staring at the place where my hand was suppose to be. _Gone. _My hand was gone.

"UGHH AHH." I screamed. But the scream was not as much as the pain but more that the last happiness I had was taken away from me. My guild mark. My beloved pink mark that gave me a sense of home, family and belonging.

"_Sorry again Lucy but I couldn't have you smiling on me."_ E.N.D. said as he sat down and pulled me on his lap. _"You know, Natsu really loved your guild mark too." _All I did was look up onto his face. The face that had done so much for me and gave me purpose and freedom was the same face that ultimately killed me.

"Why did you not go after Gray or try to kill him?" I asked E.N.D., for that was the only thing that had confused me.

"_Aw I thought you would have figured that out by now Luce! It's obviously because __**it's always more fun when we are together**__."_

I was proud of myself. Not once did I scream out as E.N.D. continuously touched the end of my arm or the hole in my chest. No, I would not give him that satisfaction, because I knew that Natsu was still there and he saw all of this. He saw me screaming out in pain, he saw his best friend stab me with a sword, he saw my hand get ripped off, he saw my silent cries and screams. _Everything. _So in my last moments I would not show Natsu all the pain that I felt but all the joy that he had shown me in the years that I had known him.

"Hey Natsu, remember when we first met?"

"_What are you doing girl?"_

"Because I remember it like it was just yesterday. _Cough. _You saved me from that creepy fake Salamander, and then after fighting him_. Cough. w_e had to run away from the guards because you ruined the port."

"_You know he can't respond right?"_

"You brought me to Fairy Tail after that. _Cough. _I was so happy to get my guild mark and when I went to show you, you totally ignored me! You know, I'm still annoyed with you for messing up my name! _Cough. _And then we went on a bunch of crazy adventures, like finding Romeo's dad, and the request about the book Daybreak. You know the one where you made me dress like a maid and where we first found Virgo? _Cough. _Also the whole lullaby incident."

"_You are even a bigger idiot then I thought you were."_

"Of course who can forget our first big quest together though, Galuna Island. I thought for sure we were going to get in so much trouble when we got back. After that there was the whole Phantom Lord thing. You caught me and saved me from crashing into the ground. Do you remember what you said to me the one time I started crying? _Cough._ You told me that I fit in better in the dirty bar, having fun with everyone and going on adventures and that I was Lucy from Fairy Tail and that this was my home. I never really got to tell you how much that meant to me, so thank you."

"_Girl, you are wasting your lasts breaths."_

"Next was the tower of heaven. I never would have told you then but I thought you were so strong, saving Erza and fighting Jellal. Then next you saved us all from Laxus and believed that I could beat Bixlow. But I still remember the moment that I first saved you. After all the times you had saved me I finally saved you, well sort of. _Cough." _

"_Okay, I'm annoyed, stop this at once."_

"We fell off of that water fall together and I remember holding onto you as tight as I could. And then I remember during the Edolas incident how mad you were and upset and I had to hold you back from being stupid. _Cough. _I was so worried about you when we got captured, I could have only imagined what they did to you, but you ended up being fine, luckily. Then there is Tenrou. Do you remember fighting Kain with that weird doll? I felt so bad because it was making me attack you. Then you got stuck under that rock and told me to leave _cough _but I couldn't do that, you wouldn't have either."

"_I told you to stop, so I suggest you quit it!"_

"Then there was the Grand Magic Games. I probably would have never got out of that one alive if it wasn't for you. You cheered me on and stopped Flare from cheating, you caught me after Minerva beat me up in the Naval Battle, you rescued me from the palace's dungeon after I was taken away and you even reassured my future self. You.. you made sure I wasn't killed by Rogue and you also caught me in the air after the whole Zirconis thing.. _cough. _You asked me what was wrong after I hugged you, and I said nothing. Nothing was wrong anymore, you saved the day just like you always did. But to tell you the truth, that stuff isn't even the best part of my memories of you Natsu."

"_I swear girl, you will regret not listening to me! Do you really want to make me do this?"_

"The small things are what I really cherish._ Cough_ Like when you uprooted that whole Sakura tree, just so I could see it when was sick, all the times you try and find jobs so that I an pay rent, the way you always step in front of me when you think there is danger, how you always manage to cheer me up, how you yelled at those girls after my dads death. _Cough._ And lastly, the way you laugh and how your eyes brighten when you smile at me."

"_That's it." _E.N.D. smashed his lips down onto mine and roughly grabbed my body bringing it closer to his. He grabbed my chin and forced my face up so that he could deepen the kiss. His tongue entered my mouth and explored around, attacking my tongue. I tried pushing him away but I was already weak since I was basically dying and he also sunk his claws deeper into my skin. I felt one of his hands find its way to my shirt and he burned it off, along with some of my skin. I yelled in pain and he took that as an opportunity to deepen the kiss even more. My lungs were dying for air, and he knew that, but he didn't stop. I mustered the last bit of strength I had left and pulled away, then slapped his face, hard. But this just got him even more angry.

"_Lucy, Natsu is watching." _He grinned and snarled at the same time.

This time he turned his attention to my neck and chest. He roughly sucked and nipped on the sensitive part of my skin, leaving red marks and pricks of blood. But then he went even lower and slowly started to lick the place that Gray's sword had pierced. At this point though I was entirely out of energy. I could feel the blood loss getting to me and the pain of everything was making me see black spots everywhere.

"Is this how it ends?" I asked no one in paticular.

I watched as E.N.D. Raised his head from my wound. Blood covered his face and his hand. Never breaking eye contact with me, he brought his hand up to his mouth and licked off all of my blood. Then he kissed me. I could taste my own blood on his mouth. It was just like him, disgusting. But something caught my eye in the hazy state that I was in. Something other then blood was running down E.N.D.'s face. Sloely I reached out and touched it then brought it back, closer to my eyes. E.N.D.'s whole body froze as I inspected the liquid. It was clear... it.. it was a tear. I looked back up at his face. The eyes, the horn, the mouth, everything was still E.N.D. but one thing was clearer now then ever. Natsu was there, and it was proven by the tears that were streaming down his face. E.N.D. looked confused as he wiped one of the tears on his face away.

"_What is this?" _He muttered.

And at that moment I realized what I had to do. What Igneel had been trying to make me understand all along, what my mother had even told me as a child. Love. Love was the key to helping Natsu. Unconditional love. True love. **One magic. **Again, there was another question that Lucy would not be able to give a good answer to. _Why now? How come you thought of this know? _Lucy wished she knew herself. Maybe it was the proof that Natsu was still fighting back and the fact that he was so sad that tears were coming out, even as E.N.D. was in charge. Or maybe it was that now, being so close to death, she wanted Natsu to truly know how she had felt ever since the day he brought her to Fairy Tail. She had no idea if she was even right or if would even work, but she knew she was right about one thing, and that was her feelings for him. Lucy cupped both of her hands on either side of the face that she cherished so much and wiped away one of the tears.

"I love you, Natsu." And then she brought her lips and softly touched them to the lips that had always given her reassurance, compliments, trust, and friendship. She loved him, so, so, so, much, and even though he might be a monster she would still love him, no matter what.

And then, everything went white.

**Okay, so first of all, I am sooooo sorry for how long it took me to update this. For a while I didn't even think I would finish it but felt so guilty and didn't want to let anyone down. So yes, because of the long wait I gave you all a extra long chapter. Second, I'm really sorry if I took this story down a path that was to dark or something or someone is offended, because I did not have that intent. When I was writing this I was even surprised in myself lol. Anywho thank you for all being so supportive and waiting for me:) If you like this chapter please review because it honestly makes me want to get another chapter out there for you guys fastXD Also on a total sidenote I am literally so obsessed with the new Fairy Tail ending and the opening makes me so sad:( Love you all! Cya next chapter!**


	7. The End of her tail

He was trapped, restrained by the shackles of his own body. It was so dark, so cold. He watched his body morph into something else, fight his friend, kill his companion, and lastly hurt the one person that he cared about the most. Even his own mouth was not listening to him. The voice that came out was not his own, it was different...almost evil. Natsu wanted to scream, wanted to tell Lucy to run away as fast as she could, wanted to protect the girl that was dying before his eyes. It hurt, it hurt so damn much, not the searing pain in his head or the burning sensation throughout his body, but watching Lucy suffer. He had promised to protect the future, but here he was watching her slowly bleed out, killed by the monster that was inside him. He wished he could look away, save himself from the pain that came from seeing her face, but he couldn't. No, it wasn't as much as he couldn't look away but more that he wouldn't. She was being so brave. And he knew that someone in the world had to witness her last moments, had to see how courageous she was and see the pain that she was enduring for the sake of her friends. It hurt to look, but at the same time, he felt a sensation of pride. He remembered when she had first joined the guild. She was always a little bit scared to fight head on with someone, and she tried to avoid confrontation. But through the countless fights and battles that the guild went through together she had become stronger, physically and mentally. She deserved better, her strength should have been shown to the world, no one would laugh at her now. He had believed in her, he always had. He knew the true strength that she held inside of her, even when she herself wasn't quite sure of it. Natsu had always wondered why some of the best people in the world always got the worst end of the deal. Why was that? He remembered a conversation that he had with Igneel once.

"It's not fair! Why do they have to die?" He had pouted. Igneel stayed quiet for awhile and kept his gaze steady on the group of humans below who were proceeding in a long line towards the small little church on top of a hill. That day, two teenagers had died when a fire broke out in the village and they went back inside a schoolhouse to save a couple of children trapped inside. Natsu had played with the two boys once, so Igneel agreed that they could watch the procession into the church but would have to leave after.

"Because it's their time to go." Igneel responded.

"How do you know when it's your time to go?" He had asked.

"You will."

"But how?" He had pestered even more. This time Igneel had looked down at him and gave a loud sigh.

"Do you want to die?" Igneel had asked him.

"Of course not." Nastu had said as his forehead crinkled up in a confused look.

"Why?"

"Why? I just don't!"

"Do you think that they wanted to die?" Igneel had asked.

"Of course not, who would?" Igneel gave a slight smiled and looked back out at the little church and the people entering it.

"You are right, a sane person would never want to die. But there will be a point in your life where you will be willing to die. May it be when you are old and you have lived a full life or when you are younger and you are protecting the ones you love."

Nastu was the one to remain silent this time. From afar you could hear the occasional sob, and the creaks of the coffins that were being carried by sullen looking men. Nastu looked more closely at the people.

"If you die for the happiness of the people you love like you say that people do, then why do the people look so sad. By dying you're still putting your loved ones through pain."

Igneel looked down at the boy below him again, but this time with softer eyes.

"Then live."

The world was white, blinding and pure. For the first time in awhile snow covered the streets and villages of Fiore. Slowly it fell, big snowflakes lazily drifted down from the sky and towards the white blanket that was covering the ground. There was no noise, not one bird or animal, it was quiet. Almost as if everyone in the world had disappeared. He didn't like it, silence, it was something that he wasn't used to. Nasty rose his hand up and tried to catch one of the falling flakes of snow. As it landed in his hand, the flake melted immediately. He dropped his hand back onto the ground and strained his ears for even the faintest bit of noise. There. He had heard it, as soft as it had been, he heard it. It was laughter. The small tinkle of a laugh reached his ears and his heart. Lucy. Yes, Lucy had that laugh, the laugh of an angel, his angel. Where was she? Where was everyone? Natsu couldn't remember. His mind seemed that it was rejecting him from entering it. Natsu stood up from his spot on the ground, leaving behind a imprint in the snow.

"Lucy!" He called. "Happy! Where are you guys?" He continued on walking through the white world, the only sound being the crunching of his shoes on the snow beneath him. "Guys! It's not funny anymore!"

"Salamander."

Natsu spun around to look at the face of the familiar voice. "Gajeel, where is everyone?" Nasty took a step towards him only to see Gajeel edge backwards covering a small figure behind him with his arm. "What the hell, what's wrong with you?" Gajeel just looked at him skeptically up and down.

"Is it really you Natsu?"

"Of course it's me, who else would it be? Now can you please tell me what's happening?" From behind Gajeel, the figure nodded and he stepped out revealing her. "Levy, thank god. Do you know where Lucy is?"

"Yeah I do Natsu."

"Alright then, let's go!" Nasty smiled. The two of them started walking and he trailed behind them, happy to be finally getting somewhere. But that happiness didn't last long when he realized that something was defiantly wrong. Even from behind Levy he could tell that she was crying, her back was shaking up and down and Gajeel kept on sending her worried glances. That wasn't the only thing though, the buildings that were once standing strong were crumbled on the ground in piles. None of them made a sound, they moved through the town like snakes would move through grass, silent and smooth. It just wasn't normal, if this was just another day then Gajeel would be teasing Levy, or Natsu and him would be fighting, everything was just so... odd. They began to slow down as they approached a little dip in the ground, it looked almost as if some kind of bomb had gone off. The snow hadn't fully covered the ground in the dip yet and Natsu could see that the plants and earth had been burnt in some way. He looked father into the dip and saw figures crouching over something.

"Juvia, Gray!" He called out to the pair.

Juvia turned her head and Natsu almost jumped a little from the shock, her face was badly bruised and bloody, especially her nose.

"Gray, what the hell did you do to Juvia?" I yelled out to him jokingly, but Gray still didn't turn around. He was still stuck in position, looking down at something. "Gray!" This time he turned around, snapping his head towards Natsu quickly. His eyes were filled with rage, red and uncontrollable anger. He started standing up as if he was about to come over and hit Natsu but on the ground something caught his attention and those angry eyes that were filled with bloodlust quickly softened and turned into something more sad and desperate. He nodded slowly and then looked at Natsu again.

"You need to come over here." He said, his voice filled with pain. Slowly Natsu began walking over towards Gray. Those few steps felt like an eternity to Natsu, he knew it was something, something bad that he wouldn't like. As he got even closer he could make out tears spilling from Gray's eyes as he looked down at whatever it was, his stomach dropped. Lucy, my Lucy. She was laying there, right in front of Gray clasping his hand. She looked terrible. Her body was torn and bleeding, there was a huge hole in her stomach that was oozing blood and her clothes were all torn. Deep scratches covered her body as well, almost as if a large bird had came down and ripped her apart, almost like a dragon.

Slowly Natsu's eyes trailed up her body and to her face, their eyes met and Natsu was filled with a new wave of pain. Her eyes were... They were glazed over, like a milky substance covered them. He had seen those types of eyes before, she was blind.

"Lucy?" He whispered out softly. Her body twitched and she slowly moved her head to the side.

"Na..tsu..? Is that... You?" Her voice trembled and he could tell that it was hard for her to even get the words out.

"Yes Lucy its me! I'm right here!" He yelled as tears threatened to spill down his face. He dropped down to his knees and swooped her body up into his arms.

"That's... good. Your here... that's really good. Your... back." She quietly said.

What the hell happened to her? Why was she like this.. And where was I, Natsu had thought. He turned to look at Gray again.

"What happened?" He asked the ice Mage. Gray didn't say anything, he just shook his head and created a piece of ice in his palm, flat and shiny, almost mirror like.

"You did." He sneered and shoved the price of glass up so that Natsu could see his face. At first nothing hit him, He looked the same as he remembered but then something right at the top of his head and in his hair caught his attention. On both sides something was poking out of his salmon hair and he slowly, and shakily reached up to touch it. Horns. And then in that moment everything flooded back to him, e.n.d, happy, gray, Lucy... All of it. Natsu saw himself killing happy and fighting gray, he saw himself attack Lucy and assault her. And finally he heard Lucy. He heard the speech that she had given to him as she was dying, how she had always believed in him and about all the different adventures that had been on. He saw the tears that slid down his face and knew that somehow Lucy had cracked e.n.d. a little bit. She knew it to, and he knew that she knew what to do. He heard the three words that he had wanted to hear so badly for awhile know. I love you. And then he felt as Lucy's soft lips hit his own. Then, everything went white.

Natsu slammed his head to the ground and gave a long piercing cry. He cried for happy, he cried for gray, he cried for everyone he had hurt, and he cried for Lucy. She had used the ultimate magic to call him back, one magic, the power of true love. And it had costed her. The white light had made her go blind and the little magic and energy she had left was gone. There was no way for her to be saved now. Natsu felt a shaky hand cup his check and pull his face up from the ground.

"Natsu, please don't cry... It wasn't your fault... You... You wouldn't have ever.. Hurt the guild." Lucy softly wiped tears away from my face and then smiled.

"Lucy.. Please, you can't leave me, I won't ever be able to forgive myself. I can't go on without you. Happy is already gone, I can't lose you to!" He begged hugging Lucy tightly.

"Igneel should have a way to save you! Where is he?"

"I'm sorry Natsu, but Igneel dies fighting acnologia, they took each other out, we found their bodies back over there."Gray had said pointed to a faraway location. Igneel... Why.. When I had just gotten you back! How could you let some other dragon take you down, Natsu thought. He wanted to break down and scream again but he didn't, he knew that if he did Lucy would be even more upset. He didn't want to see her hurt anymore. After a couple moments of silence and a few sniffles from Natsu, Lucy's soft, faint voice spoke out.

"Hey Natsu... Do fairies have tails?"

"What? come one Lucy! It's not the time to be asking questions like that! Don't waste your breathe!"

She laughed,"you want to know what I think it means?"

"Lucy, come on!"

"I think it means that we all our have our own tails, if you are a fairy, a dragon slayer, an ice Mage, a dragon, or a celestial Mage. Everyone has them, and that at the end of each tail, there lies true happiness. When you reach the end of your own tail you know exactly who you are and what you love and care for, and that you are able to be at peace."

"Lucy? What are you talking about!?"

Lucy touched her forehead to Natsu and closed her glazed eyes as a few tears slipped out.

"I'm at the end of my personal fairy tail Natsu, I reached the end." She whispered.

"No, Lucy, you can't be. Your whole life is in front of you... Our life together. There are still so many more adventures I wanted to go on with you. Remember, I promised you, to protect the future."

"And you have not broke that promise once, even after I am gone, that promise will not be broken.."

She stared coughing loudly and blood shoot out of her mouth. I grabbed onto her again and held her up as she continued to cough.

"I'm nearing the end." She whispered. "Gray," she called out. Immediately gray stepped closer to Lucy and took her hand.

"I'm right here Lucy." He told her softly.

"Please watch over Juvia, make sure she cleans her injuries, okay?"

"Of course."

"Oh and Gray?"

"Yeah Lucy?"

"Don't blame yourself, it was no ones fault but Zeref's."

"But I was the one who..." Gray looked down and hot tears started to drop from his eyes again.

"Stop. Please don't be sad, I can't leave without you all happy." She smiled. Gray nodded, and wiped the tears from his face.

"Thanks gray, I will see you later."

"See you later Lucy," he said as his voice broke. He stood up and walked over to a crying Juvia.

Next, Lucy called over a somber looking Gajeel and a sobbing levy.

"Gajeel, I swear to god if you ever hurt levy I will hunt you for the rest of your life."

"I got it bunny girl." He said trying to use his nickname for her but his voice betrayed him.

"Levy, i want you to take my books that I wrote. They might not be the best but I want you to have them.

"Lu-chan..." Levy threw herself down and hugged Lucy crying on her shoulder. After a few minutes Gajeel pulled her up and they walked over to where Juvia and gray stood, leaving Lucy and Natsu.

"Have you seen Erza, Natsu?" She asked.

"Sorry Lucy... I haven't.."

"Thats okay.. Just when you see her tell her that I love her and that she has always been like an older sister to me."

"Of course Lucy, anything."

"Oh and Mira, and everyone back in the guild, tell them I love them all and that they were the best family I could have ever hoped for." At this point Lucy had started to cry.

"And... And... My spirits, make sure they are taken care of.. Also the landlady, tell her she can have all of my clothes. And... And.." Lucy's tears stated to pick up and Natsu hugged her even tighter.

"Natsu... I wish my tail was just a little longer.."

"I know Lucy... Me too." They sat there in an embrace for what seemed like hours. But soon Natsu could feel Lucy's grip start to weaken.

"Natsu please face me." Natsu turned his face to Lucy and closed his eyes as her fingers explored his face and stopped at his lips. Slowly they both leaned in and closed the distance between them. For awhile Natsu had known that his feelings for Lucy were much more then just another friend but he had never known the right moment to tell her what she meant to him. The soft, sweet kiss ended and Natsu took Lucy's face in his hands.

"Lucy... I don't have the right to say what I am about to say but.. I love you. I love you so damn much. I wanted to grow old with you and have children's with you. I wanted to.. Die with you."

Lucy's smile grew twice its size and her tears trailed down her face even more.

"Me too Natsu, I love you." She whispered and closed her eyes.

And with that the women that Natsu loved, the light to his dark, the stars in his night, Lucy Heartfilia died. And just like Mard geer had said, from what seemed like eons ago, the end was near, and Natsu wasn't able to stop it.

**A/N: okay guys so this was the last chapter. At first I was planning to make it longer but this just felt like the right length to stop, 7 chapters. I might do a epilogue if anyone wants one, so just comment if you would! It has been such a great ride with this story. I never thought that my first fan fic would get the attention that it has:) so thank you all so much for commenting and following the story. I know that my updates at the end were pretty slow and I apologize for all of the grammar or spelling mistakes in this because my laptop has not been working so I had to upload with my iPad... Anyways please look for my next work... Another nalu angsty fic;) love you all and thanks so much!**


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